Opening Up
by GeminiSanzo
Summary: [COMPLETE] Ichigo and Masaya have split up, after Ichigo saw him cheating on her. She's now beginning to fall for a certain meanie, Ryou Shirogane. Can Ryou confess his feelings for a certain girl or will it all end in tears?
1. HeartBreak

Disclaimer: I do not own Tokyo Mew Mew

Title: Opening Up.

Warnings: Maybe a slight bit of OOCness, characters ages have been changed ; so they're roughly all the same age apart from Akasaka-san and Ryou who're slightly older of course

Author: Mairi. (Dark Winged Angel Mairiel).

Proof Reader: Kaoru Saotome

Summary: Ichigo's boyfriend has been acting funny for the first month of the summer holidays. She's in for a terrible shock when she discovers the reason and Ryou doesn't take to it all that well when he finally manages to get her to tell him.

Pairings: Ryou x Ichigo.

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Chapter 1 – Heartbreak

Ichigo was glad it was summer; it meant nice weather and relaxation time… of course, apart from the times when she had to save the earth - or in this case, work at the café for a while longer. They hadn't come across any enemies since Kisshu, Pai and Taruto. Today was a hot day, no cloud traces in the sky; maybe Shirogane and Akasaka-san would treat her and her friends to another vacation. She felt like she needed to see somewhere other than her own neighborhood every time she walked out the door.

"I'm going out, mum!" she said while opening the door, and then closing it behind her firmly.

'Ah, it's such a lovely day, just like yesterday,' Ichigo thought to herself as she began to walk down the street. She was headed to the park; hopefully, her boyfriend would be there. He'd been acting a little funny over the first month of the summer holiday, she hadn't had a call from him and whenever she called his mobile it was turned off, and when she tried the house phone his mother told her that he was out. These sudden events got her thinking. She thought she'd done something wrong to upset him and he wasn't telling her. She seriously wanted to talk to him, though.

She looked at her watch, still about three hours to go before she had to go to the café. Reaching the gates to the park she stopped at them and leaned up against the side looking about. Ichigo sighed a little, she couldn't see him about. She wandered into the park, sauntered on over to the nearby bench and sat down, sitting her bag beside her.

"I wonder where Aoyama-kun is." She sighed again, she was feeling a little more depressed than the other day. Only when she went to the café she managed to hide it, and a lot better than before to.

She decided to just sit back and relax only to let her eyes be drawn to the fountain in the middle of the park. Her eyes widened slightly, it couldn't be true… she wasn't actually seeing the scene in front of her, was she? She wasn't seeing her own boyfriend cheat on her with another girl. She closed her eyes and shook her head - it had to be an extremely bad nightmare, or a dream - it had to be! Opening her eyes she let her eyes wander over to where she saw Aoyama. No, it couldn't be… he _was_ sitting there with another girl. She felt a pain in her chest, a lump in her throat and then she felt something she hadn't wanted to feel. Tears. Ichigo couldn't move her right hand covered her mouth as she tried to keep back a lot of the tears that were now stinging the back of her eyes and threatening to fall down her face any second. Eventually she managed to get up and run off out the park straight to the café, she didn't care how early she was.

Reaching the café in what seemed to be minutes, she opened the door and came to a halt after she closed it. Leaning against the door itself she slid down it onto her knees, tears streaming down her face.

"Ichigo?" A voice came from the other side of the room. Akasaka and Shirogane came out of the small kitchen into the main part of the café and looked at the upset girl.

Ryou's azure blue eyes widened slightly as a small hurt feeling overthrew him, he hated it when Ichigo was crying, or even hurt. He knelt next to her and moved some hairs that had stuck to the side of her face from the wet tears.

"What's wrong?" he asked before Akasaka could, his voice sounding concerned and gentle.

"A-Aoyama-K…un. He happened…" she sobbed, while wiping her eyes not looking up at the blonde haired boy.

"What? Ichigo, try to be a little more specific, will you?" He spat, sounding a little bit irritated when he didn't mean to. Mentally he kicked himself, cursing himself for doing it; he just hoped that she wouldn't run off now.

"He… I saw him with another girl…"

"He can have other female friends you know."

"Moron! He was kissing her!" She yelled at him, hitting him at the same time. Ryou had tensed up a little; she wasn't hitting him hard, she was too upset to use much of her strength. He did the first thing that came to his mind, taking each of Ichigo's wrists in his hands and grasping them firmly until he got her to look at him.

"Calm down," he said, even though he wasn't feeling all that calm now that she'd basically said her boyfriend was cheating on her. Ryou thought he'd never have a chance with her. Aoyama was extremely lucky to have such a caring girl in his case, but he instead discarded her like an old and unwanted item, the way some children get tired of pets and dump them any old place.

"I…can't."

Without thinking he sighed inwardly and pulled the red haired girl into a hug and kissed her forehead gently.

"Where did you see him?" He asked, deciding that he was going to pay little Aoyama-kun a visit.

"The park, about ten minutes ago…"

Ryou nodded then looked up to Keiichiro, his eyebrows in a slight frown.

"Keiichiro, look after Ichigo for a bit. I'm going out." Akasaka nodded to his friend.

"Come on Ichigo, we'll go get you all cleaned up, shall we?"

"Yeah…sure…"

Ryou's fists clenched as he watched his now saddened Ichigo gingerly wiping the tears from her face - which Aoyama had caused. He was going to pay for this. Ryou would make sure that he felt sorry for upsetting her. Opening the café door he stormed out and headed to the park at a quick pace, hoping to catch him and have a nice talk with him.

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My second fic first one in the Tokyo Mew Mew section though. Reviews would be nice ) I'm starting on the second chapter already 


	2. Building Confidence

Disclaimer: I do not own Tokyo Mew Mew

Title: Opening Up.

Warnings: Maybe a slight bit of OOCness, characters ages have been changed ; so they're roughly all the same age apart from Akasaka-san and Ryou who're slightly older of course

Author: Mairi. (Dark Winged Angel Mairiel).

Proof Reader: Kaoru Saotome

Summary: Ichigo's boyfriend has been acting funny for the first month of the summer holidays. She's in for a terrible shock when she discovers the reason and Ryou doesn't take to it all that well when he finally manages to get her to tell him.

Pairings: Ryou x Ichigo.

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Chapter 2 – Building up confidence.

Ryou stopped at the entrance to the park and looked about; he didn't see Aoyama at the fountain. He began walking into the park and started his search.

Eventually he spotted the new pair near the benches having a bite to eat. Sauntering over to them, he somehow kept his anger at bay; he knew he could do this all casually and make him feel bad.

"Oi, Aoyama."

"Shirogane-san?"

"My, what's all this then? Thought you were with Ichigo," he stated, acting surprised.

"Well…I, uh. I was…uh going to, tell her," he stuttered, now feeling uneasy.

"Oh really?" Ryou snapped. "You mean you would tell her if she hadn't discovered it for herself!"

"She what?"

"She found out herself. She came here, probably hoping to see you I expect. And when she does, she has to face the horrible fact that you're cheating on her."

Ryou kept an angry frown on his face, scowling at him. He'd managed to get Masaya worked up a little, which is what he wanted to do him.

"I'd suggest you keep away from Ichigo if you don't want me to deal with you any further."

With that said he turned and walked away only to stop in his tracks by Masaya calling him, he turned to face him his fists still clenching and unclenching every now and then.

"Tell her… I'm sorry… I didn't know what came over me…" The girl that was with Aoyama took that rather offensively and got up and stormed off away from him.

Ryou thought for a second, he could either forgive and forget which wasn't likely to happen any time soon or he could warn him off, for Ichigo's sake. Yes the second one seemed more of an option.

"No. I won't tell her that. She's upset enough as it is, I doubt she'd need some of that crap from you. You had a good chance with her, yet you just discarded her because you didn't know what came over you. If you ask me… she deserves better than you," Ryou said without taking a breath. Hopefully Aoyama wouldn't come to the café and start trouble, but that hopeful thought never lasted long at all. Ryou stopped yet again and turned, just in time to see Masaya come at him. With a quick flick of the wrist, Ryou managed to block a punch from him and then counter it with a punch of his own. Masaya staggered a little and fell onto the ground.

"Moron," muttered Ryou as he turned to walk away leaving Masaya behind.

'Hopefully that'll be the last of him.' He thought to himself returning to the café.

Ryou stood at the café door before opening it and entering the building. He was busy thinking to himself about the whole situation. When Aoyama and Ichigo were together he had grown slightly jealous and then somehow managed to place his feelings for the red haired girl to the side. But now that they weren't likely to go back together for a long time – hell, after that, Aoyama's chances were minimal at best – Ryou stood a chance with her. A faint smile appeared on his face and he opened the door.

"Keiichiro?"

Keiichiro appeared a moment later, popping his head from around the corner. He gave a welcoming smile to his blonde haired friend.

"I take it you found him then?" He asked.

"Damn right I found him."

"Oh? What happened?"

"I told him to keep his distance, and then he had the nerve to try and take a swing at me."

Keiichiro smirked a little, but not enough for Ryou to spot it. He didn't need to here what Ryou did next; it was too easy to guess.

"Where's Ichigo?" Ryou asked sitting down on a chair and propped his elbows on the tabletop.

"She's in the kitchen. Still staring at the cup of tea that I made her; she hasn't said a word. I think she's still in shock. The poor girl, maybe you should go talk to her."

"Nah, I'll leave her alone for a little while. I'll go talk to her before we open up the café."

With that Ryou walked past his friend and up to his room where he lay on his bed and stared at the ceiling in thought. He wanted to admit his feelings to Ichigo now that he had the chance, but he didn't want to do it too soon. It wouldn't make her feel all that great, he gathered. With a sigh, he shifted onto his side. Maybe he'd leave it a day or two. Give her enough time to calm down a bit. Ryou looked to his clock; they still had a good two hours or so before opening. Hoping that Ichigo would stay for the time being, he closed his eyes and drifted off to sleep.

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Well shorter than the last one I've got a good idea of where to take this one. Oh and i had one person saying that it looked copied? -.-; considering i've read one or two, i come up up with my own ideas. It'd be annoying if all of them were on the exact same story line planning but they're not -.- anyhoo, next chapter maybe up tomorrow, depending on how much i can get completed. I'll have a good few hours to do it in, but i also have my Naruto one to do xX which will be delayed ; hehe. Anyhhooooo review people )


	3. Holiday Plans

Disclaimer: I do not own Tokyo Mew Mew

Title: Opening Up.

Warnings: Maybe a slight bit of OOCness, characters ages have been changed ; so they're roughly all the same age apart from Akasaka-san and Ryou who're slightly older of course

Author: Mairi. (Dark Winged Angel Mairiel).

Proof Reader: Kaoru Saotome

Summary: Masaya cheated on Ichigo, she found out and ran to the Café. Ryou and Keiichiro find out what happened about 3 hours before they open up. Ryou takes a visit to Masaya, warning him off. Now that he has a chance, he's starting to build up the courage to tell Ichigo how he feels about her.

Pairings: Ryou x Ichigo.

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Chapter 3 – Holiday Plans

Ryou's azure blue eyes fluttered open, his eyes automatically looking to the clock. When he focused on the time he stretched and got up. He'd only slept for about half an hour or so. Getting up, he remembered that Ichigo was downstairs…or had been. Hopefully she was still there.

He left his room and headed downstairs, making his way to the kitchen and looking into it. Yes, Ichigo was still there, and had apparently only drunk a little of the tea that Keiichiro had made for her a short while ago. He couldn't see Keiichiro around and so made his way into the kitchen and took a seat next to the red haired girl.

"Ichigo?"

"Hm?"

"You ok?" Stupid question, he chided himself mentally. Here he was, trying to cheer her up a little, and his effort felt like it was about to go down the drain. He tensed for what came next as Ichigo glanced to him. For once he felt a little scared.

"Yeah, somehow," she replied, a small faint smile trying its best to come onto her face. This made him relax a little although still feeling a little uneasy with the question he'd asked her.

"Good to hear. Are you planning on staying here until we open up?" he asked her. She nodded in reply to him. Ryou smiled slightly, at the moment he couldn't think of another way to cheer her up. It got a smile out of her, though.

"I'll be back in a bit." He said getting up and making his way out the kitchen again only to stop and look back in.

"Wouldn't happen to know where Keiichiro went would you?" he asked.

"No idea."

"Right."

Ryou had a sudden idea, only he wanted to clear it with Keiichiro to make sure it seemed like a good idea. Eventually he found him in a back room looking at a computer screen.

"Keiichiro, I've had an idea on how to cheer Ichigo up after that incident earlier."

"Oh?" said Keiichiro, as he turned around to face Ryou fully. "What would that be?"

"I say we take a month off and go somewhere. Somewhere that Ichigo could lose herself and take her mind off what's happened. Maybe going outside Japan would be ideal."

"Sounds good, we could discuss it further with the other girls later. Maybe we could let Ichigo choose the place, too."

"Good idea."

Ryou gave him a small smile and left him to his work. Maybe he'd be able to build up his courage more and tell Ichigo how he felt about her. It certainly gave him the confidence he needed. He made his way back to the kitchen where Ichigo still sat. She seemed to have calmed down a little bit. He pulled up a chair next to her and sat beside her.

"How's the tea?" he asked, trying to make a bit of conversation. He'd have to tell the other girls to, just so they wouldn't ask if she'd heard anything from Masaya yet. He didn't want to see Ichigo break down again. Ichigo glanced up at him with her big chocolate brown eyes and forced a small smile onto her face.

"It's nice. I could do with some more, if that's okay," she said.

"Sure it is. I'll go get some for you."

"Thank you, Shirogane-san."

Ryou frowned slightly in disappointment as he got up to get the tea for Ichigo, and also some for himself; he wished that she'd use his first name at times. She'd used Keiichiro's name before. The tea didn't take that long to make up and he was sitting back beside Ichigo again in less than a minute.

"Here."

"Thanks."

"How are you feeling now?" Ryou asked, trying not to trigger anything off as he sipped at the tea.

"A little better actually, I think I'm slowly getting over it already."

"Good."

"Shirogane-san, where did you go to all of a sudden anyway?" she asked.

"I went to talk to Aoyama. I told him off. If he gives you any trouble later on, then tell me and I'll sort it out."

"Uh, yeah…okay. Thank you," Ichigo stuttered while going slightly red. She hadn't expected him to be comforting her, let alone looking out for her like this.

"We're going to cheer you up, Ichigo. We'll discuss the plan later when the others are here. OK?" he said.

"Plan?" she echoed, briefly forgetting most of today's events and giving Ryou her full attention.

"Yep, we're planning to go abroad, or maybe to another area of Japan. But more on that later on, it's nearly time for opening. The girls will be along soon. Will you be okay for the next few hours?"

"I should think so."

"Good, if you want to be alone at any point for a short time then you can always go to my room, instead of in here if you want to." He said, now getting up to place his cup in the sink.

"Huh? Well, okay. Thanks, Shirogane-san."

"It's not a problem, Ichigo," he replied with a small faint smile, "You should go get changed now. We've got fifteen minutes."

"Sure thing."

Ichigo was going to do her best today. Watching that horrible incident earlier had made her depressed, but when Ryou had started to be nicer than usual to her and told her that he'd sorted Aoyama out, she felt a little better from it. She just hoped that she'd be staying happy for the rest of the day.

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w00t, here's chapter 3 as promised. It maybe a little shorter than the previous ones. I should have chapter 4 up tomorrow, if not then Friday or Saturday. 


	4. Trouble

Disclaimer: I do not own Tokyo Mew Mew

Title: Opening Up.

Warnings: Maybe a slight bit of OOCness, characters ages have been changed ; so they're roughly all the same age apart from Akasaka-san and Ryou who're slightly older of course (and also I attempted a cute scene xD )

Author: Mairi. (Dark Winged Angel Mairiel).

Proof Reader: Kaoru Saotome

Summary: Ryou's slowly building up the courage to tell Ichigo about his feelings for her. He tells Ichigo about the encounter with Masaya. Ichigo hopes for no more trouble in the near future, but not all goes to plan, and Ichigo gets a little nasty.

Pairings: Ryou x Ichigo.

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Chapter 4 – Trouble, 

Masaya looked at the café, his eyes narrowing a little. His hand glided gently over the spot where Ryou had punched him. Even though he had been warned to stay away from Ichigo, he wasn't about to obey rules. Ryou didn't own Ichigo, so he could see her whenever he wished to. He took a step or two towards the building before stopping in his tracks, fists clenching…what was this feeling surging through him? Was he afraid that Ryou might be there? No, he couldn't let that incident get to him. He moved again, quickening his pace towards the entrance of the café and opened the door, the only one that was about happened to be Ichigo, the other girls hadn't shown up yet as they still had a bit to get there.

"Ichigo," he said, closing the door behind him and making her freeze, she had her back to him. Ichigo clutched the mop handle tightly, and close to her chest. Why was he here? Why of all places, and at such a time.

"What…do you want now…?" she managed to mutter quietly, just enough so he could hear her. She knew that Keiichiro was in the kitchen if she needed help at any time.

"I want to apologise, for earlier."

"You want to apologise for cheating on me?" she spat back at his completely lame reason.

"Yes. I don't know what came over me. I'm sorry."

"Forget it, Aoyama."

"But Ichigo, I'm so-"

"Why the hell are you here, Aoyama?" came Ryou's voice. He'd been in the kitchen with Keiichiro and had obviously heard them. He narrowed his blue eyes into a glare; Masaya glared back as though challenging him.

"I'm here to get Ichigo back."

"Keep trying," was all Ryou replied to him, but he had to admit that he didn't expect the next action by the other boy. Masaya ran past Ichigo and straight for Ryou, trying to hit him, and this time managed to connect his fist with Ryou's face. Ryou tensed a little from the impact and just managed to push Masaya off of him. There was a fair distance between them now; Ryou could push quite hard. Masaya went for Ryou again, but this time Ryou was expecting the hit. He watched the other boy raise his fist, ready to swing down on him. Ichigo had been yelling at the two of them in the background and he'd only just realized it, and before he knew it, Ichigo had positioned herself in front of him ready to take Masaya's hit. A loud echoing smack had filled the room now, Masaya staggered back. Ryou was staring at Ichigo in bewilderment and amazement, he'd just seen Ichigo beat Masaya to the ground in one hit - and it had to have hurt the guy, as he was now muttering in pain on the ground.

"Get lost Masaya!" she yelled at the curled-up form on the ground. Masaya moved his face towards the red haired girl, his left hand still clutching at his face. She'd caught him on the other side, and her impact was a tad bit worse than that of Ryou's impact earlier. He opened his mouth to speak, but Ichigo had already spotted it and beat him to it, guessing what his next words would be.

"Go! I won't accept your lame excuses! You're a complete moron, and I wish now that I had never laid my eyes on you from the start!"

Without another word she turned her back to him and faced Ryou, blushing slightly; neither of them knew she had it in her. Ryou looked at her with caution, was he about to get one of those slaps that some females famously dished out after getting involved in a fight? If he was, then he was going to be well prepared as of now.

"Ne, Shirogane-san."

"Ye-yes, Ichigo?"

"Are you alright?"

Ryou relaxed a little; at least he wasn't about to get hit and scolded by her. He nodded a yes in response to her question; immediately, Ichigo quickly ran past him and into the kitchen, where Keiichiro had decided to stay put. His attention was then drawn to the door as it opened, four girls walking into the building and now staring at the boys in front of them. Masaya got up and gave another glare at Ryou before turning and barging his way through the small huddled group at the door and running off as he hit the end of the café's street. The girls watched this then turned back to Ryou, who was now putting on a smile so as not to worry them much.

"Shirogane-san, what happened here?" Mint asked, a little confused.

"I've never seen Aoyama that rude before!" said a slightly irritated Pudding; she'd been one of the ones that Masaya had shoved aside to get past.

"Where's Ichigo-san? Is she going to be late again?" Lettuce asked quietly.

"Ichigo's already here, it'd be best if you didn't talk about…him," Ryou replied bluntly. Right now he was more worried about Ichigo than explaining to the rest of them, although he probably should. He didn't think Ichigo would be up to telling her friends what happened.

"Well, it's just about time to open up, I think you better go get changed. Ichigo may be a couple of minutes."

The girls nodded and went to change while Ryou sauntered on into the kitchen, checking on Ichigo. She wasn't crying. She had been, but she'd calmed down rather quickly by the looks of it; maybe she'd heard the others and didn't want to cause a scene.

Keiichiro looked to Ryou, and a small reassuring smile that told him that she was fine put some relief into him.

"Ichigo, are you going to be ok for getting to work now?" Ryou asked, hoping that she wasn't going to snap at him. Instead she gave a timid nod and got up and looked at him, her chocolate brown eyes gazing into his azure blues momentarily.

Keiichiro at this point had turned away to do something; he guessed it'd be one of those moments.

"Shirogane-san."

"Hm?"

"Thanks, for helping me out back there." Ichigo said, hugging Ryou tightly. She needed to hug him, or rather she needed someone to hug and he was closer than Keiichiro was. She didn't expect Ryou to hug her back, however; he didn't hug her as tightly but just enough to give her some reassurance.

"It's alright; I'll be there no matter what." He smiled a little bit after he said that. Ichigo's expression changed from slightly depressed to a happier look.

"Thank you…eh, I better go get changed before they all come looking for me."

She hurried off to change into her waitress outfit and join the girls. Keiichiro turned to Ryou after she'd gone.

"Do you think we'll have any more trouble from Aoyama?" he asked, leaning up against the counter.

"I hope not. When they go home, I think I'll follow Ichigo at a safe distance just in case," he replied to Keiichiro while sitting himself down on the chair that Ichigo had sat on previously.

"If we do have anymore trouble from Aoyama then I'll deal with him. I won't sit around and watch him try his damndest to get her back, not after what happened."

"Fair enough, but just remember not to take it too far, okay?"

"I won't. I'm heading to my room for a while, if anyone wants me then I'll be there."

"OK."

Ryou left for his room, taking a quick glance into the main area and smiled to himself quietly. He was glad that Ichigo was acting a little happier. Satisfied, he moved on up to his room.

Lying on his bed, Ryou looked to the ceiling and sighed quietly. He had thought of what he wanted to tell Ichigo, but he didn't know when. Just now would be too soon for her. Maybe he could do it while on the holiday. Yes, that seemed the best option right now. Now all he had to do was wait for a few hours to go by before they discussed the plans.

He shut his eyes and went for another short nap, since he didn't have much do at the moment.

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Wooo sorry about the delay -.- freaking net problems and what not i've begun on chapter five, for both fics. so Yay, chapter 4 of Kiwi is getting looked over as i write this (or it had better be > )anyhoo. Read and enjoy. >> I've also had a new idea but i think i might write it up and leave it be for a bit, as my loving boyfriend may kill me if he has to read to much >> not that i give him much anyway xD 


	5. Not All Plans Go Accordingly

Disclaimer: I do not own Tokyo Mew Mew

Title: Opening Up.

Warnings: Maybe a slight bit of OOCness, characters ages have been changed ; so they're roughly all the same age apart from Akasaka-san and Ryou who're slightly older of course

Author: Mairi. (Dark Winged Angel Mairiel).

Proof Reader: Kaoru Saotome

Summary: The girls are told of the holiday plans, but not all goes according to Ryou and Keiichiro's idea. Ryou's determined to take Ichigo's mind off of what happened, so what happens when Keiichiro suggests that Ryou and Ichigo should go somewhere together?

Pairings: Ryou x Ichigo.

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Chapter 5 – Not all plans go accordingly.

After a hard day's work the girls rested at a table, all having some tea that Keiichiro had made for them. Ryou had woken up a while ago and had come downstairs to sit with them all.

"We've had an idea for a holiday for a month if you lot are interested," Ryou said, getting them to change the subject.

"Oh? when?" Lettuce asked timidly.

"Maybe within the next couple of weeks?" he replied.

"Oh, I wouldn't be able to go, my parents are taking me on holiday in the next week or so," she sighed unhappily,

"I can't go either. I've got other business that I have to attend to," Mint said with a saddened face. Zakuro and Pudding were unable to go too. Keiichiro looked to Ryou, who was trying to hold back a really disappointed look. No one knew that he and Keiichiro were trying to make Ichigo feel a bit better. He thought for a moment; there was bound to be something he could do so he didn't end up having a disappointed Ryou Shirogane on one hand and a depressed Ichigo on the other. Then he clicked. Idea. He turned to Ryou.

"Ryou, why don't you and Ichigo go somewhere together?"

"Together, us?" Ichigo wondered out loud. She blushed slightly, not enough to be noticed. She considered how she and Shirogane would cope with being together for; god only knew how long it'd be if it was only the two of them going now.

"I'd think it'd be fun, Ichigo," Ryou said, smiling slightly. He hadn't expected Keiichiro to suggest that for him, he had indeed thought of asking Ichigo about wanting to go somewhere after the others said they couldn't go with them.

"Yeah you two should choose somewhere instead, it'd still be worth it," Mint smirked.

"Yeah, sure. We could talk about it later. I have to get going," Ichigo said quietly, getting up to get changed.

"Ichigo, do you want me to walk you home?" Ryou asked suddenly. Ichigo turned her head to him with a small smile and nodded.

"Sure," she said, then went off with the rest of the girls following her. Keiichiro still had a smile on his face when he turned to look at Ryou.

"Ryou, you should make your move soon. I know that the incident happened today but I don't think Ichigo wants to be alone, if you know what I mean. She could do with some company of a…certain kind, even if you're only hinting at it just now."

"Heh. I was going to wait until the holiday…but I guess I could lay down a few hints. I just hope what you say is correct. I don't want to upset her more."

"It'll be fine, trust me."

"Ne, Ryou…I'm ready," Ichigo said reaching the table again, she hadn't heard anything that had been said thankfully.

"Alright. Let's go, shall we? Catcha later, Keiichiro."

"Ne…it's gotten dark pretty quickly, hasn't it?" Ichigo said, striking up a conversation between them. She'd been thinking about Ryou quite a lot since he sorted Aoyama out. He was growing on her, but she didn't think he was interested in her; she thought he was just being nice to her. She pulled her coat around her a little tighter, shivering with the cold. Ryou noticed the movement and thought about making her a tiny bit warmer, if he could. He wrapped an arm around her waist, going slightly red in the face as he did so, and pulled her closer to him. Ichigo gasped slightly, and her eyes widened a little before a blush coloured her cheeks. She didn't look up at him so she never saw the same pink tinge grow across his cheeks.

"Didn't expect it to be this chilly on a summer night?" he asked, tightening his grip a little more on her waist. He was feeling uneasy for some reason. It felt like they were being watched. He decided to ignore it for now.

"No, I didn't," she replied, relaxing into his hold. She wasn't going to say it out loud but she felt safe, and she was enjoying being with him.

"So, do you have plans for tomorrow?" he asked, not actually realising what he just asked.

"Uh, I was suppose to go to the pictures with…but, that won't be happening anymore, I guess. So no, I don't have any plans for tomorrow."

"Aa, sorry I asked."

"It's okay, Shirogane-san."

"How about going somewhere tomorrow before the café opens?" he asked, looking down at her. Ichigo was quiet for a second or two, she was thinking that Ryou was just feeling sorry for her but something else told her that he was being serious and she should go along.

"Okay, where will we go?"

"You choose if you like."

"Could we go to the pictures? That movie that I was suppose to see with…" She couldn't bring herself to say his name now. "…It was a movie I've been wanting to see for a few weeks, since it came out."

"Sure, what time would you like me to pick you up?" he asked, as they stopped outside the front door of Ichigo's home. She looked up to him fully now, slipping out of the hold at the same time.

"Is ten okay?"

"Sure it is. I'll see you tomorrow then?" he confirmed, about to turn away. Ichigo nodded at him. He turned and only got a few steps before Ichigo hugged him from behind.

"Shirogane-san, thanks…for being there for me." This put a smile on Ryou's face. He turned to face her, still letting her hug him, and wrapped both of his arms around her and held her tightly.

"It's not a problem, Ichigo. I'll be there whenever you need me, remember that."

"I will, see you."

"Goodnight."

They both let go at the same time. Ichigo dove into her house and up to her room, her face bright red.

'Was I just… did he… were we… hugging?' she thought, panicking slightly. Her mind went back to just a little earlier. Had Ryou asked her out…? She couldn't believe it. She was feeling better than ever, and she was excited about tomorrow. She got changed quickly and went straight to bed, too tired to stay awake right now.

Ryou smiled to himself as he walked away, taking a glance at the house before continuing back to the café. He couldn't believe it either. He'd only thought about asking Ichigo about plans, and now he was going to be collecting her tomorrow morning and going to see a movie with her. Maybe he should make his move then; she didn't seem to mind the hug, after all.

He reached the café within fifteen minutes or so at his relatively fast walking pace. Keiichiro was still up and at the table, reading and drinking some tea. Looking up, he gave a welcoming smile to Ryou. "Hey, welcome back."

"Thanks."

"So, how'd the walk go?" he asked, his gaze returning to the magazine in front of him.

"What do you mean?" returned Ryou, raising an eyebrow.

"Oh come on, I can tell just by the look on your face."

"I managed to ask Ichigo if she wanted to go out tomorrow before we open up," he replied, a slight blush beginning to creep across his cheeks.

"Oh, where are you going to?"

"To see a movie, and then I don't know. Maybe I'll take her somewhere for eating."

"Fair enough. When are you leaving?"

"Ten o'clock in the morning. I'll get an early night I guess," he said taking a seat.

"Do you plan on making a move?"

"I'll try. She didn't seem to mind me hugging her or helping her to warm up."

"I see. Well, I hope it all works out, Ryou. I'll be up a while making some cakes for tomorrow."

"At this time of night, Keiichiro?"

"Yeah, why not?"

"Alright. I'm going to head off to bed, then. I'll see you in the morning."

"Goodnight."

Ryou yawned as he made his way up to the room. Taking his shirt off and discarding it on the chair, he did the same with his trousers, leaving him in his boxers. He set his clock alarm to seven and slipped under the covers after switching the light off. He closed his eyes and thought about the day he had ahead of him, and about who he'd be spending it with. Tomorrow was going to be fun.

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woooooo another chapter done. ) Last chapter is number 6 BUT! (before you kill me o.o; ) i will be doing a sequel to this story (oh my bf is going to love me ) but for now, enjoy this one, also i've done up another story called "Bitter Sweet" I won't tell you what it's about, well not all of it let's just say there shall be a lot of Aoyama bashing

Aoyama: -.- Why me...

Ryou: YAY!

Me: hehehe Frying Pan, Chain Saaaw ooorrrr...death by bouncy ball? o.O

Ryou: CHAINSAW! xD

Me: Riiiight -.- spoil sport Ryou, i was wanting the bouncey ball o.o ti'd be funny >> anyhoo see you viewers next chaper D


	6. Confessions

Disclaimer: I do not own Tokyo Mew Mew

Title: Opening Up.

Warnings: Maybe a slight bit of OOCness, characters ages have been changed ; so they're roughly all the same age apart from Akasaka-san and Ryou who're slightly older of course

Author: Mairi. (Dark Winged Angel Mairiel).

Proof Reader: Kaoru Saotome

Summary: Ryou's attempting to make his move on Ichigo. How will Ichigo react, and will she confess her feelings to Ryou?

Pairings: Ryou x Ichigo.

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Chapter 6 – Confessions

Ryou waited outside the path that led to Ichigo's house. He still had a couple of minutes to go before he was due to arrive. He looked up as the door opened; a smiling Ichigo emerged from the other side and closed it behind her. She walked up to him before greeting him with a slightly hyper hug.

"Good morning Shirogane-san."

"Good morning, Ichigo," Ryou replied, returning the hug.

They walked down to the park first of all. They weren't going to go to the cinema right now, so they decided to leave it a while; they had a lot of time.

"It's quite a nice day, nya?" Ichigo said, her smile getting bigger by the minute; she was clearly in a much better mood than yesterday and it made Ryou smile.

"Yeah, it looks much brighter than yesterday did, don't you think so?" he replied, gazing up at the clear blue sky. Ichigo nodded in agreement and took a seat on the nearby bench. Ryou sat next to her, a little closer than he'd expected.

"You know I've gotten over that moron already? Some would think it's pretty strange for one to get over Aoyama so quickly," she said. She wasn't lying, and she had to let Ryou know somehow that Aoyama wasn't going to be on her mind anymore.

"Really, is he that popular at your school?"

"Yeah, he was really popular."

"I see. So when do you want to go see this movie?" he asked, trying to work out a good time to tell her how he felt.

"Should we go at midday? We could head to the café straight after it," she suggested.

"Yeah that's fine." He now knew he'd have to do it within the next couple of hours, unless…

"Ichigo," he began, looking away from her to hide the blush he could feel spreading over his face. Ichigo looked up to the blonde boy next to her.

"Yes, Shirogane-san?"

"Would you like to… uh, have…dinner, with me…this evening after work?" He sighed inwardly as soon as he'd finished, relieved to finally get that question out. His blue eyes shifted to the side, looking down at Ichigo. He noticed the red colour coming onto her cheeks and smiled. He found that very cute of her.

"Ye-yeah, I'd… lo-like to," she stuttered. She hadn't seen that one coming.

'Did she nearly say 'love to' instead of like to?' Ryou thought to himself in bemusement.

"Okay, would you like to go anywhere in particular? I could walk you home again too… if you'd like me to, that is."

"Oh, I don't know of any good places, you can decide on it, and yes. You could walk me home again Shirogane-san," Ichigo replied timidly. She could see that her cheeks were getting red; her eyes were drawn downward from the colouring. She was blushing so much that she covered her face with her hands. Ryou couldn't help but chuckle lightly, placing a hand gently on her head and petting her hair.

"That's so cute of you, Ichigo."

"Nya, I can't stand it when my face goes a scarlet-beetroot colour beyond all reason, nyaaaaa…" she whined, accidentally falling onto him. Ryou left her there for a moment. his hand still stroking her hair gently. She'd be over her embarrassment soon, so he took the time to look around at his surroundings. The fountain was pretty interesting. He watched it briefly before turning his attention back to Ichigo, who'd now sat upright again. The bright scarlet-beetroot colour had faded into a gentle baby pink colour, which he thought suited her.

"So, what should we do in the meantime Shirogane-san?" she asked, her smile taking over again.

"We could take a walk around? Shop a little bit if you like?" he suggested, standing up and turning to face her.

"Both sound nice really, if that's okay with you."

"Of course it is. I say we go for a walk first."

"Sure."

They set off for their wander, deciding to go off to a large pond nearby before doing anything else. Ichigo sat down once they got there, being a little thirsty; luckily there was a vending machine near by that did snacks and drinks. Ryou went off to get them both a drink while Ichigo relaxed on the bench, then the unexpected happened. _He_ happened to walk by with yet another female. Maybe when Ryou sorted him out the other day he had managed to get the other girl to break up with him, she mused. It brought an amused smirk to her face to see him; still, after a moment she turned away in dismissal. Aoyama happened to notice her after a minute or two; he was still determined for her to forgive him and go back with him. However, Ryou happened to be on his way back when he spotted the idiot - hadn't he learned his lesson yet? Making sure not to make a scene just yet, he quickened his pace back to the red-haired girl and sat next to her. From the corner of his eye he saw the boy freeze on the spot, staring at him. Ryou glared up at Aoyama from underneath his bangs, looking dangerous for a split second until he returned his attention to Ichigo, who'd turned to face him too.

Ryou couldn't help himself now, he had to do this. Apart from it driving him nuts all day, he wanted to hint his feelings a little more to Ichigo; he leaned in towards her and brushed his lips against hers briefly before pressing down lightly and pulling away with a wink, handing her the can. Ichigo was still blinking like a cute little lost kitten; she could swear that her face had just turned scarlet again. She smiled gently up at him before looking up at Aoyama, whose face expression was priceless at that moment, and she couldn't help but laugh out. Ryou smirked beside her and turned to face Aoyama himself, giving him a 'what the hell are you gawking at' look.

Aoyama eventually took off, with his female companion looking rather depressed; only when he'd gone away from them did he realise that he now had no second chance with Ichigo.

'That was pretty funny,' she thought to herself now that she'd calmed down a bit, 'but I wonder why Shirogane-san did that… does he… like me?'

She could clearly hear her own heartbeat thumping and before she knew it, her ears and tail had popped out.

"NYA!" she squealed as quietly as she could as she tried to hide them. Ryou laughed lightly, took off the over-sleeveless coat he was wearing and put it over her head.

"Are you thinking about something, Ichigo?" he smirked, wondering if he should go for it now instead of waiting for later. Yes…now seemed like a good time.

"Well, I am now."

"Oh? And what would that be?" he asked, his smirk growing into a playful grin. She looked up at him; he hadn't really noticed it either.

"How come I didn't transform into a cat when you kissed me?" she asked. That nailed him; now that he thought about it, she should have transformed into a cat when he did that.

"Maybe the Iriomote Wildcat genes have subsided a little and aren't taking over as much," he said, briefly thinking it over. Maybe he should try it again just to make sure…no, all this probably felt like a test to her. He had to do it now, instead of later.

"Ichigo," he began, the blush from earlier returning to him. Ichigo glanced up at him waiting for him to continue, her heart inexplicably beating fast again.

"I…I lo-love, you," he said, hoping now that she wouldn't run off or do anything that indicated that he had upset her. Instead, she was staring at him, her mouth opened slightly as thought she was about to say something.

'Come on, Ichigo, say it damnit! You've been thinking of him non-stop and now he's right there in front of you, confessing his feelings for you, and you're sitting there like a statue!' she thought to herself furiously, trying to force the same sentence out of her mouth.

"I love…you too, Shir-"

"Ne, call me Ryou," he interrupted, before she could complete the last part. Ichigo went a shade brighter, something she hadn't thought possible.

"Aa…I love you, Ryou." Ichigo could now feel her heartbeat getting faster, as though it could burst out her chest at any moment from the sheer force of it; her ears and tail were still out, so at least she didn't have to worry about them popping back out. Ryou felt his heart swell and begin to beat more strongly than he'd ever felt. He'd done it. He had finally admitted his feelings to her and she'd accepted him. He wrapped a hand around her waist and pulled her to him gently; as he leaned his head down to hers, their lips brushed together again. He pressed up against her lips again, this time with a bit more pressure. Ichigo eagerly responded in kind. The kiss was fiery and passionate, for all that it was their first together; they'd both been holding back a lot of emotion. Ryou broke away after a moment, his blush deeper still – but there was a smile on his face. Ichigo smiled back, lost in a daze.

'Hell, he's hot. I should have been interested in Ryou from the start!'

"So," he said, drawing her into a warming hug. "Shall we go and catch that movie, then head to the café?"

"Yeah, let's," she replied, snuggling up to him.

Getting up, they headed in the direction of the cinema, holding hands. Ryou was feeling happier than he'd ever felt, and so was Ichigo.

"Ne, Ryou."

"Hm?" he asked, looking down to her. She had that cute look about her again. The one that appeared before she was about to ask him something. This time, however, it was mixed with a maturity and beauty he'd never noticed before.

"Are we still going out to dinner later on?"

Ryou's smile broadened as he nodded to her; he wasn't going to say no to that. He'd be treating today as their first official date.

Owari.

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**Wooooooooo 6 chapters, I'm impressed o.O normally I would have given up on the 3rd or something due to my lack of ability for writing up ideas ahehehehe, but nupes I have completed it. Anyhoo I hope you, the reader, have enjoyed the story as much as I enjoyed writing it. ) Many thanks to those who've reviewed it, it's very much appreciated!**

**And also thanks to my loving boyfriend who takes the time to read over it and makes sure that it makes sense o.O; (You've got a ton more of chapters coming your way love xD )**

**- I've still to think of a few ideas for the sequel but it will come soon hopefully. **

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